Tourist arrivals from the Middle East, Africa, and North America are expected to drive growth in Egypt’s tourism industry going forward, according to data released ahead of the 2018 Arabian Travel Market carried by Breaking Travel News. A combination of a cheaper EGP and the government’s charter flight incentive program is expected to drive arrivals from North America up at a compound annual growth rate of 3.9% between 2018-2021 to 318,444, while African arrivals are seen growing at annual rate of 3.8% over the same period to more than 300,901 tourists. Middle East arrivals are also expected to grow by 3% a year to more than 1.34 mn, while European tourists — “who have traditionally been the key source market for Egypt” — will be growing in numbers at an annual rate of 1.6% in the next four years. The return of direct air travel between Cairo and Moscow after an over two-year halt is also expected to drive tourist numbers up.

Global players are sensing a turnaround in the making: A number of hotel chains, including Hilton, had announced ambitious plans to expand across the country, just as newly-appointed Tourism Minister Rania Al Mashat said she would be working on a strategy to develop the sector and diversify source markets for tourists.